Okay, so I got bored of writing one shots, so I decided to write my first multi-chaptered story! Where this story takes place in relation to the show is kind of confusing. I would say during Lake Laogai because the gaang has reunited with Jet already. However, they do not have Appa and Jet was not attacked and/or killed (possibly) by Long Feng. So it doesn't exactly follow the story line, but that's why it's a fan fiction, right?

Anyways, this is NOT a Jetara fan fic. It is Kataang. Well, I guess it's kind of both. But believe me, Kataang always wins over Jetara. This story was inspired mainly by Aang's jealous comment during Lake Laogai. I thought that was so funny, I decided to make a story out of it.

Also, bear in mind that as Aang does not have Appa, he is still a bit touchy and sad and all that. I don't know how long this will be; it all depends on how many ideas I have for it and if anybody likes it or not. The next chapters should be a little more interesting. Enjoy and let me know how I can improve. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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It was another beautiful morning in Ba Sing Se. The sun was just starting to rise and cast weak rays of light throughout the city when Katara woke up peacefully. She climbed out of bed and stretched, feeling strangely happy. The young waterbender looked out the fairly large window and was startled to see how early it was.

'Wow, why am I up so early? I always sleep in when I'm given the chance.'

For some reason, Katara had the feeling that today was going to be special. Feeling cheerful, she brushed and braided her silky chestnut brown hair, her fingers working absently on the braid she had learned how to do so long ago.

Her mother had taught her how to braid her hair when she was about five years old. Katara would never forget how her first attempt had looked – one loop of hair was longer than the first by a wide margin and her "braid" looked more like a lopsided bundle of tangled hair than a braid.

She laughed as she pictured it. She had definitely improved since that first attempt, but she recalled how proud of herself she had been, parading around camp with her head held high. She had been so carefree and innocent back then, so full of joy and laughter… much like Aang was now.

Katara sighed, remembering the bliss of childhood, and wishing that she hadn't been forced to grow up so soon. But, with her mother gone, there was no more time for fun and games, no more time for laughter. The day that her mother died was the last day of her childhood; it marked the day that she was forced to grow up. The only problem was that she was still so young…

Maybe that was why she always wore her hair this way. True, it kept it out of her face and was really pretty, but it also reminded her of her mother and of her childhood. It was one of the few things, along with her necklace and her waterbending, that kept her close to her mother.

She tied the end of her braid off and walked over to her door. Opening it as quietly as possible, Katara slipped out and tiptoed past Toph's and the boys' rooms.

Katara doubted Aang was still asleep, for he normally woke up before her, but she knew that Sokka would be, and she didn't feel much like waking him up and dealing with his grumpiness all day long.

After entering the main room of the house, Katara looked around for something to eat. Her choice was either an apple or a papaya.

"Yuck, definitely not papaya," she stated disgustedly, scrunching up her nose. Following her visit in Aunt Wu's village, Katara vowed never to eat papaya again. She grabbed the apple and sat down at the low table to eat it.

She bit into it, savoring the sweet and somewhat sour juices that ran down the peeling after each bite. When she had eaten it down to the core, she stood up and threw it away, wondering what she should do next.

'Wow, everyone else is still sleeping,' Katara mused. She expected this much from Sokka, and maybe even Toph, but she had been hoping that Aang would wake up while she ate to keep her company.

Since she had nothing better to do, she decided to go outside and retrieve the mail. When the waterbender slid open the door, however, she found herself face to face with –

"Jet?"

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Aang was sitting in his room watching the sunrise when he thought he heard someone sneak past his door.

'It must be Katara,' he thought to himself, a blush rising to his cheeks just thinking about her.

He didn't get up to follow her, however, which is what he would do under most circumstances. The young Avatar loved to be around her, and usually jumped on any excuse to be close to her, especially alone, where he wasn't under the constant glare of Sokka. But he had always loved watching the sun rise since he was a little boy, and the sunrise was so beautiful this morning that he chose to stay in his room for a few more minutes. Besides, watching it made him feel quite peaceful and calm, and he was unwilling to break that spell so quickly when he had not felt this way in a long time.

Aang was filled with the prediction that today was going to be a good day.

'Maybe even good enough for you to tell Katara you love her'

Aang's heart skipped a beat. He had been trying to summon up the courage to tell her about his feelings all week, but he hadn't had much luck. The one time he had managed to gain her attention away from the others, he had only been able to spit out, "Katara, I…" before loosing his nerve and turning away from her, his cheeks burning, and muttering, "Never mind."

Still feeling embarrassed about this last pathetic attempt, Aang pressed his knuckles together in a familiar position as he began to meditate, clearing his mind of all thoughts (which, incidentally, were all Katara-related).

After about an hour or so of meditation, the airbender grew bored and decided to say good morning to Katara. He slipped out of his room and entered the living room, expecting to see her sitting at the table eating breakfast or something. What he did not expect was to see that the room was empty except for a note in Katara's handwriting lying on the table. Aang picked it up and read it.

Aang, Sokka, and Toph,

Went to the market to get food. Be back soon. Love, Katara.

Aang felt slightly disappointed that she did not ask him to join her, but immediately perked up when he realized that she couldn't have left too long ago and that it wouldn't be that hard to find her if he was flying.

The Avatar ran back to him room, grabbed his glider, and was outside in an instant. He opened the glider, smiling happily. Katara was going to be surprised when she found out that he had set off looking for her…

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Katara had to admit she was a bit shocked to find Jet at the door to their house. Sure, they were friends again, but it was still a bit awkward between them. Some things were not easily forgotten…

"Hey Katara!" Jet called to her, bringing her back to her senses.

"Hm?" she asked him.

After she had nearly smashed right into him and gotten over the shock of him visiting her, she had politely invited him inside the house for breakfast, momentarily forgetting they were out of food. Once she remembered that the only food item remaining in the house was a lone papaya, she had admitted that she needed to go grocery shopping. He asked if he could come along. She tried to find to find an excuse or something so that she could reject his offer without hurting his feelings, but, upon finding no solution to her dilemma, she had grudgingly agreed. Besides, they were friends, right? What harm could it do?

And so she left a note explaining where she had gone (though she conveniently left out who she was going with) and she and Jet set out together. Katara let him lead the way because he had told her that he knew the best place to shop. Along the way, they chatted happily, telling each other of the adventures they had recently gone through. When they reached the market and began shopping, they had a great time looking at the weird items for sale and laughing at each other's jokes.

Jet had just dragged her over to a flower stand; he seemed determined to find the perfect flower for her.

"Look at this beautiful flower I found!" Jet exclaimed. Katara glanced down at the flower he held in his big hands. It was beautiful. The petals were cerulean blue, the color of her eyes. They shape of the flower reminded her vaguely of a heart.

As if he knew what she was thinking, he tucked the flower behind her ear, saying, "It matches your eyes. A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl."

When his hand brushed casually against her cheek, she couldn't prevent the blush from heating up her face.

'Oh no, please don't tell me I'm falling for him again,' she groaned. 'I just want to be friends. Can't he see that?'

Well, after the comment he had just made, apparently not. And, judging by the way she subconsciously looked at his handsome figure, it was quite obvious that she couldn't either.

"C'mon, let's go!" Jet grabbed her hand and dragged her through the throngs of early morning shoppers crowding the market.

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After flying around aimlessly for several minutes, Aang decided that he had no idea where he was going. Ba Sing Se was enormous. He landed on the street and looked around for someone who could possibly help him.

"Excuse me," Aang called, hurrying up to a balding old man and his wife who appeared to be out for a morning stroll.

"You haven't seen a girl wearing blue robes with long, brown, braided hair pass through here, have you?" Aang tried to describe Katara to the best of his ability without embarrassing himself. He could have gone into much greater detail, but, to avoid declaring his love for Katara in front of two complete strangers, he left most of the details out. He still looked a little flustered, though.

The old man gave him a funny look before his wife answered him.

"Why, yes, we have, as a matter of fact. A young girl fitting your description passed by here not too long ago, accompanied by a tall, handsome young man. It looks like they were headed to the market," she informed him cheerfully.

At the words 'accompanied by a tall, handsome young man', Aang's eyes narrowed suspiciously and his heart sank disappointedly. "Oh," he said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Where is this market?"

The old woman pointed him in the right direction and he bowed politely, thanking her. As he flew off, he heard her husband say indignantly,

"What do you mean, 'handsome'?"

The moment the marketplace came into sight, Aang flew low and landed stealthily on a rooftop with a clear view of everything going on in the market. Crouching in the shadows, he glanced around for any sign of Katara. Something glinted in the weak morning sun and his gray eyes immediately flew to the source, recognizing it a few seconds later to be Katara's beloved necklace.

Aang smiled as he looked at her beautiful figure. A blue flower that matched her eyes perfectly was resting behind her left ear. Frowning slightly, Aang's eyes widened as they skimmed down her arm to her hand, which was being held on to tightly by none other than Jet.

Aang gasped and nearly fell off the roof with shock. Balancing himself once again, Aang's wide gray eyes watched helplessly as Jet dragged Katara, his Katara, from stall to stall, showing her what each had to offer. Katara was laughing, a wide smile gracing her exquisite features, and seemed to be having the time of her life. She appeared to be completely okay with the fact that Jet was holding her hand. And, judging by the petal pink blush that adorned her precious cheeks, she was enjoying it.

Aang was crushed. What was she doing shopping with him and holding his hand? He was her best friend – that's something they usually did together, minus the holding hand part, which hinted at something more than friendship. He was stunned. Yeah, they were friends with Jet again, but still! Sneaking out in the morning and holding her hand was a bit more than friendship.

Maybe he was overreacting. Katara was seriously wounded after what he did to her the last time they met. Aang doubted she would fall for him again. She was probably just too polite to take her hand away from his.

He told himself this and made himself believe it, but it didn't make him feel even the tiniest bit better. It still wasn't right. If Jet was the one who was holding Katara's hand, it most likely meant that Jet had a crush on Katara, making him Aang's competition. And Aang still hadn't forgotten that she had once fallen for him very badly….

Without another glance at the two, Aang opened up his glider and took off.

When he slid the door to their temporary home in Ba Sing Se open a little while later (he had flown around Ba Sing Se in an attempt to calm himself down after what he had seen), he found Sokka sitting at the table expectantly.

"Finally!" he grumbled. "I'm starving. Please tell me you didn't forget the – whoa, what's up with you?" Sokka stopped mid rant to take in Aang's deflated appearance.

Aang didn't respond – by the time Sokka had finished speaking, he was already back in his room.

"What's up with Twinkletoes?" Aang heard Toph ask Sokka.

The young Avatar dropped his staff and plopped onto his bed, groaning. When they had first met Jet, Aang had been completely unaware of Katara's crush on Jet – just as unaware as Katara was to his own feelings, he reminded himself dully. Being his usual, optimistic self, Aang had been quite happy to be Jet's friend. It helped not only that Aang had no idea of anything going on between Katara and Jet, but that his feelings hadn't been so strong for Katara at that point. Yeah, he had a major crush on her, but he didn't… love her. Yet.

But now, Aang having wizened up, it was going to be a lot harder to be friends with Jet and act normal around him, a lot harder to keep his jealousy down.

Looking up from his pillow, Aang glanced idly around his room, vaguely remembering that he had woken up so happy earlier that morning.

A door opened somewhere in the house and Aang heard Sokka mutter,

"It's about time you returned! I hope you brought something good for all the time it took you."

"Sorry," came Katara's cheerful voice, and Aang felt his heart melt.

He decided he would pretend nothing had happened; after all, he was spying, and he didn't think Katara would appreciate that too much. He slipped out of his room just as he heard Katara say,

"Where's Aang?"

"Right here," Aang announced with a large, fake grin on his face. Sokka shot him a weird look, saying 'Well, now Katara's back you're Mr. Sunshine again'.

Katara smiled warmly at him. She seemed strangely happy about something. "Great, I got you some new fruits to try out." She pushed some fruit into his hands.

"Thanks, Katara." He gave her his best, toothy smile, and Katara couldn't help noticing it was a bit forced. She frowned.

"Aang, is everything okay?" Katara observed her friend closely. He refused to make eye contact with her, but she could still tell that his eyes were not as bright as they usually were. Something was surely bothering him; she always could see right through those fake smiles he sometimes wore. He could throw on a huge grin and a cheerful voice, but his eyes always gave him away. Aang may be able to fool the others, but he most certainly couldn't fool her.

"Wha-? Oh, everything's great, Katara," he said quickly – a little too quickly, apparently, because now everybody had their eyes on him. "Just a little hungry," he supplied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, if you say so," Katara relented, not believing one word of it. But whatever was bothering him was his business. If he didn't want her to know what was wrong, then he didn't have to tell her. It just struck her as a bit odd because Aang was never one to be secretive about anything. At least, that she knew of.

"Can we please eat now?" Sokka demanded, rudely interrupting her thoughts.

The four friends sat around the table and ate, none of them speaking. After a while of sitting in an awkward silence, Katara spoke up.

"Um…. I was wondering if you guys would care to accompany Jet and I to lunch and shopping later on."

Sokka choked. Toph took this as her cue to slap him hard on the back, only causing him to choke even harder. "Jet! Where did you see him today?"

"Well… we kinda went to the market this morning together. He showed up early this morning, and, since we had nothing to eat, he offered to take me shopping. I came back to give you guys the food, but he asked if I would like to go out later. You guys are welcome to come, of course."

"Wait, back up. You mean like on a date?" Sokka asked incredulously.

"No!" Katara practically shouted, blushing furiously.

"I see. That would explain why you are blushing. Listen, Katara, just be careful. Remember what happened last time. I know we're friends with Jet, but I don't entirely trust him." Sokka had suddenly turned serious. Toph looked confused.

"What's wrong with him?" Nobody answered her.

"Well, does anyone want to come? Sokka?" Sokka shook his head. Well, it's not like she hadn't been expecting that. "Toph?" Katara inquired, getting somewhat desperate.

"Actually, I think I'll stay here with Sokka. Sorry Katara."

"Aang?" she whispered pleadingly. She really did not want to be alone with Jet again… or did she? Deep down, a part of her wanted Aang to decline so she could be alone with him. Katara quickly covered this part of her up. What, was she crazy? She didn't like him like that anymore… right? They were just friends, right?

While she spoke, Aang sat there quietly. Part of him wanted to go so he could be with Katara and (the jealous part of him) so he could ruin their little date, but another part of him just wanted to run back to his room and cry. Because that's what he really felt like doing. This day just kept going from bad to worse. It really seemed as though she had a crush on him again.

Aang noticed the look in her eyes when she said his name, the dazed, hopeful look that he often mirrored in his own gray eyes when he was looking at her. And there was the way her cheeks grew bright red when Sokka asked her if Jet asked her on a date. It certainly seemed like a date to him. Jet had asked Katara to go to lunch – not the others. Katara is the one who had asked them to accompany her.

His eyes stinging with the tears he was trying so hard to keep in, he made up his mind.

"I, uh, I have to go," he managed to spit out before standing up abruptly and running back to his room, trying to hide the fact that tears were now flowing freely down his face.

Only once he was back in the solitude of his own room did he let his emotions out and allow himself to cry into his pillow. He wasn't even that sure why he was crying. Katara had done nothing to hurt him – nothing on purpose, that is.

Aang knew that he loved her. He loved her so much; he needed her. The attachment he felt to her was so unexplainably strong. What would he do without her?

He was already going through a hard time, with Appa being captured and all. Now this had to happen. It seemed like he was losing everything lately – first Appa, and now Katara. What did he have left?

More tears streamed down his pale cheeks. He tried so hard to get her attention and to impress her, but she never seemed to see him as more than a great friend. She loved him, but not the way he loved her. She loved him like she loved Sokka; like family. But that wasn't how he wanted to be loved by her.

At that moment, Momo flew in from the window Aang had left open.

"Hey buddy," Aang said softly, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. He reached out to scratch behind the lemur's large, furry ears.

"I don't know, Momo. I try so hard, but she only seems to see me as a friend." Aang sighed. Why did he love her the way he did? Before, it had always made him feel happy. Now it just made him realize that he was stupid to love her that way because she could never like a young boy with arrow tattoos all over his body. Not while she was so stunningly gorgeous. She deserved better than him. She deserved Jet. He was handsome, had long hair, and was tall.

Aang hated the fact that he was shorter than Katara. Sure, he had grown a lot since he met her, but he was still a few inches shorter than her. No, Katara would never like him.

And he had woken up so peacefully…

Aang remembered that he had planned only hours ago on telling Katara he loved her.

He silently laughed at himself, unable to believe that he had almost risked their friendship like that. It would have made things so uncomfortable between them if Katara knew that he loved her and she didn't love him back. She would probably be afraid to be around him because she wouldn't know what he was thinking about her and distance herself from him, resulting in the end of their friendship.

Aang couldn't live without her. Even if they only ever stayed friends, he would be okay with that because it meant that they could still be together. If telling her how he felt, thus relieving himself of his secret, came with the risk of never seeing each other again, than it wasn't worth it. Besides, after what he had seen today, it was obvious that she didn't love him the way he loved her, and he was stupid for not seeing that sooner.